What’s keeping you?

“What’s keeping you?”

This little piece of grammatically incorrect language had for quite sometime escaped my consciousness. It was only when I reflected upon why it was that at 27 years old, and with a seemingly endless collection of thoughts, that I was not of the next generation of publishers. It was while I was riding in the car today that I was revisited by the question, “What’s keeping you?” In reality, the all to common answer to this question is invariably simple: Nothing.

Nothing, is what keeps us from doing anything. Nothing is what keeps us from accomplishing anything great, both for ourselves and others.

Nothing.

“What’s keeping you?” is a question asked by two types of people. Those that care greatly for you, and those who do not care for you at all. The first group ask this question as a simple way of extracting what excuse might be plaguing us at any given moment, in an effort to spur our growth. The latter ask as if to belittle us for being susceptible to excuses at all. Like there is an individual on this planet that has not fallen victim to the paper tiger of nothing-based decision making.

So, have you developed a marketing strategy for your latest startup? Well, what’s keeping you?”

Have you debugged that nagging piece of code that you once thought would change the world? What’s keeping you?

Did you approach the one professor in the engineering department that can help you build the final piece of your 10 million dollar puzzle? What’s keeping you?

If you find yourself being “kept”, chances are that nothing is keeping you, and it is far easier to overcome nothing than something. Whatever that something might be.

Somethings include things like:

*Caring for a dying relative 12 hours a day and working full time.

*Raising 5 kids by yourself, while your spouse is serving in Iraq.

*Working yourself half to death to earn your high school diploma at 23 years of age, while supporting a family on $6.50 an hour.

*(you get the picture)

The joyous truth of the matter is that real somethings are just a few steps away from becoming nothings, and overcoming somethings always leaves you in a better place than those who overcome nothings. In character, life experience, ethics, and rectitude. In short, if there is really something keeping you, overcome, triumph and get over it. If there is nothing keeping you, just get over yourself.

I did, and you’re reading it right now.